Tesseracts Ain't Got Nothin' On Me
by TitaniumJack
Summary: Delta Squad is sent to recover a mysterious object, but they soon learn they aren't the only ones after it! Completely devoid of a Canon Timeline. Continuation of a non-published story.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Alright, alright... I know. No one likes a Halo and GoW XOver, but I couldn't resist! And of course, I'm gonna think it's good. So, I do hope you enjoy, and and critiques or comments you may have are always welcome. Also, please note that I'm kinda talky, but I'll try to keep my notes restrained to the beginning or end of the chapters as I can... Now, without further adieu, my HaloXGow story "Tesseracts Ain't Got Nothin' On Me"**

* * *

"What is it?"  
"It's a giant green man." Sarcasm, obviously. "How the hell am I supposed to know?" Baird was leaning over a body, some eight feet tall, and covered in green metal. It was humanoid enough, two arms, two legs, an apparent head, but that wasn't good enough for Marcus Fenix.  
"Can you fix it?" He asked, tightening his grip on the Lancer in his hands. He shifted on his feet.  
"I don't even know what 'it' is. It could be a robot, it could be a suit of armor. Hell, it could be a statue for all I know!" Baird through an arm out, expressing his emotion; Annoyance.  
"Well, try anyways." Marcus was tired of Damon's bitching, and the sooner they figured out what this thing was, the quicker they could get back. Baird called for Jack, a floating robot, to help him study the object.  
"Marcus, look." Dominic Santiago stepped next to Fenix, nodding at the green lump. "That gold, on the head. It looks like a visor. What if it is armor?"  
"At least I'm not the only one wearing my helmet." That was Clayton Carmine, the fifth member of Delta Squad. He tapped his head, decked out in a COG issue blue helmet, as he said it.  
"That's what we're going to find out, Dom." Marcus emphasized the last word, showing his annoyance with the whole mission. "Baird, try to take off that things helmet."  
"Yeah, yeah..." Baird flopped his hand at Marcus, ushering him to leave him alone. "Jack, see if you can get that helmet off."  
Cole stamped up behind Clayton, his feet sounding heavy on the dewy grass. "Area looks clear to me." He spotted the emerald figure and let out a low whistle. "Woooo. That's one big dude. Wouldn't want to go up against him on the field!"  
Marcus barely looked at Cole. "Yeah, well, something tells me he doesn't know how to play Thrashball..."


	2. Chapter 1

Cortana muted the fast paced beeping that was echoing from the speakers inside the helmet. She knew that Master Chief's shield were down. The fall to the planet's surface did a lot of damage to John's Mjolnir armor, including the fusion pack that was used to recharge his kinetic shielding. Unfortunately, no power to the shield meant no power to the rest of the suit, save for emergency battery backup that provided the annoying noise. That meant on John, the armor was just a half-ton weight. It did save his life, however.  
Since power was down, and Master Chief was unconscious, Cortana didn't have a lot to do. Even in a low power standby mode, she still went over the odds of John's survival in milliseconds. By the numbers, it wasn't good. She locked the suit before impact, which sent most of the force onto the suits critical components, but spared John's. Still, a large number of his bones were broken. Impressive, seeing as they were reinforced by nanocarbon fiber. John was unconscious, which screamed concusion, but the worse was the chance of internal bleeding. Before the system was forcefully shut off, she had noted that Spartan 117 WAS still alive, but how long that would last is questionable. She turned on the microphone in his helmet. Good, she could still here his breathing, although it was faint. Luck, it seemed, was still with him.  
She checked the battery's power. Thirty two percent. It seems she was quite a drain on the system. She didn't like the idea of leaving John alone, but if the power ran out...  
She decided it was best to shut down all her subroutines, for now. She'd keep a passive eye for any movement from the Spartan, but beyond that, there was nothing she could do.

* * *

Baird pryed at the joint at the figure's neck. Black cloth formed a seal between the helmet and the chestplate. He soon found a latch, one that presumably unlocked the helmet. "Damn. The clasp's jammed. It is a helmet, though. I can see a seal. Must be airtight..."  
"That means there's a person inside."  
Dominic put a hand on Fenix's shoulder. "Marcus, they'd have to be eight feet tall to fit in that suit. I mean, damn, not even Cole's that big."  
Cole scrunched his nose, stepping around Fenix and Santiago. "Hey, baby. Size ain't everything, you know."  
Marcus kicked the edge that marked an indentation around the figure. If this suit fell, it landed hard. "Yeah, well. Whoever it is, I doubt they're feeling too good." Marcus turned around, pressing a finger into his ear. "Command, this is Fenix. We found a body. Area seems clear, requesting an evac at my position."  
A female's voice echoed back into his ear, one belonging to Lieutenant Anya Stroud, contact point for Delta squad. "Roger that Marcus. A Raven's on its way. ETA, twenty minutes."  
"Roger, Anya." Fenix removed his finger from his ear, and turned back to the four members of Delta Squad. "Alright Delta. Bird's in the air. We have fifteen minutes to figure out what this thing is, and who it belongs to. Baird?"  
Damon's finger slipped from the lip of the helmet. "Damn. Nah, this thing's stuck on." He shuffled right in his crouch position, and brought a fist down onto the person's chest. The metal thumped and his hand bounced back. "Well, I've done all I can. Unless somebody has any pliers." Carmine stepped to Baird, offering the chainsaw of his Lancer to Baird, who smirked, amused at the thought.  
"Shape up, Delta." Marcus wasn't in the mood for jokes. "Can you move it? I don't like being out in the open."  
Baird shook his head, standing up and stepping forward. "I don't know, man. I couldn't even move his arm. I mean, he looks heavy, and I've got a bad back." He shrugged his shoulders in mock exaggeration. Marcus just stared back into Baird's eyes, forcing him to back up.  
"Nothing's too heavy for the Cole Train, baby!" Always enthusiastic, Cole stepped to the head of the person. Crouching down, he slipped his hands under the shoulders of the figure. The strain showed on his face. When the body didn't budge, Augustus made a motion to Clayton with his head. "Uh, a little help." Clayton snapped his Lancer onto his back, taking a leg on the body while Damon grabbed the other. On the count of three, they all heaved, lifting the body a few inches off the ground.  
Carmine's bicep bulged under the strain. "Fuckin' A, what did he eat?" The comment made Cole smile.  
"Yeah, he's a big boy."  
Marcus was surveying the field they were in. Other than one singular rock, 4 feet high, the field was empty. A little cover, he thought, was better than none. "Alright, Delta, move him over to that rock until the Raven gets here."  
"Oh, yeah. Moving a giant metal man. Always fun in Delta." Baird clenched his teeth as he struggled to get the suit moving. "Maybe tomorrow I'll pick up a mountain, you know, for a warm up..."  
Cole chastised him with a look. "C'mon Baird. If this is too hard for you, maybe I'll start taking you to the gym with me."  
"Alright Delta, cut the chatter." Marcus and Dom followed behind the others as they heaved the body away from the small indent. Dominic stopped after a few steps, searching the sky. "Hey, Marcus... Do you hear that?"  
Marcus stopped and turned around, giving Dom a confused look before looking up at the sky. As a matter of fact, he did hear it. A low pitched whine, sounding from a treeline several hundred meters off. It didn't take him much longer to spot a smoke trail, high over head. "Ah, shit..."  
Dominic yelled it first. "Mortars!"  
Marcus followed up after him with a "Get to cover, Delta! Move it!"  
The mortar exploded overhead, raining smaller munitions on the area below it. As the ground erupted into shrapnel around them, Delta sprinted behind the rock. The concussive explosions dulled enough for them to hear the scream of another shot.  
As Damon threw the body onto the ground behind the rock, it made a wet thump. "A rock's not going to proctect us from mortar fire, Marcus!" Fenix didn't want to admit it, but Baird was right.


	3. Chapter 2

A scaly grey hand gripped the crank that lowered the barrel of the mortar. Setting it at a very low angle, the Locust in control pulled the trigger. A loud thump rang through its body as the munition flew towards a group of humans cowering behind a rock in the middle of a field. Before the explosive could hit its mark, it erupted into several smaller explosions, peppering the land between them with craters. The Locust caught the eye of his Theron leader, whom he knew as Skarim, who made it obvious he wasn't happy with the mortarmen's performance. "Out of range," was all he could reply, a gravelly, low voice barely forming the words. Skarim's was more of a insidious whisper.  
"Then move."  
The Locust nodded, then stood up. Using both arms, he heaved the heavy mortar cannon from its resting place, and stepped over the fallen log he was using as cover. As he starting moving, several other Locust emerged from the trees, taking the Theron's cue to advance. The low rumbling of a battlecry came from the six other locust that crossed the threshold of the forest, fire spouting from the barrels of their Hammerburst rifles. The mortarman grinned as he stooped down, several feet closer to his targets. He pushed against the crank on the side, setting the proper angle for a lethal shot. As he looked up to verify the range to the target, he spotted a glint on the side of the rock. Squinting, he recognized it as the barrel of a Longshot sniper rifle. Surprise had barely registered in his brain before it was wiped clean by a large caliber bullet to the brain pan. A splatter of blood covered the mortar, and the Locust collapsed on top of it.

* * *

"Oh yeah! Nothin' but bits." Carmine pulled back his Longshot to reload. The only issue with the large caliber, highly accurate weapon was it's single shot capacity, requiring to be reloaded after every pull of the trigger. He flinched reflexively as Hammerburst shots chipped pieces of rock onto Delta squad. Cole popped out of cover, standing up and spraying the advancing Locust with a clip of Lancer fire. The Locust that went down issued a loud 'Wooo' from Cole before he ducked back down.  
"Marcus, look." Dom pointed around the edge of the rock into the treeline. "A Theron."  
Marcus' lips squished to one side of his face as he followed Dominic's finger. "Yeah, I see him. He might be the one leading these grubs." He turned his attention to his sniper, who was celebrating another well placed shot. "Carmine, take out that Theron in the woods." Carmine's reply was hard to hear over the din of gunfire as Baird took his turn to administer some death to the Locust. Marcus put a hand to his ear. "What?"  
"I said 'you got it'... Ah, nevermind!" Carmine settled the barrel of his Longshot on the rock, and scanned the treeline until he spotted a red piece of armor jutting out from behind the tree. "There you are," he muttered to himself, picking a spot on the trunk where the Theron's head was likely to be behind. As Carmine pulled the trigger a shot slammed into his shoulder. The Longshot's round raced across the field to the targetted tree.

* * *

Skarim was caught off-guard as an explosion of splinters erupted above his head. He let out a low hiss in anger, noticing that a round had missed by mere inches. Spinning around to take cover behind another tree, he focused his Torque Bow on the rock hiding the human squad. The arrow flew straight and true, but by now half of his own squad was dead, or dying. Making a snap decision, he left the few remaining troops he had on the field, and headed deeper into the forest. His small scouting party wasn't prepared for the human squad. Skarim would need a larger force, and he would get one.


	4. Chapter 3

The torque arrow that attached itself to Delta's cover rained molten shrapnel as it  
exploded, making Baird curse as he ducked down. "Carmine, you missed!"  
"Yeah, whatever." Carmine checked the pauldron of his COG armor, he was bleeding, but it was nothing to worry about. Instead, it just made him angry. He pulled out his side arm, and stood up to face the grubs that shot him. Two well placed shots saw two Locust heads decapitated. As the last two boodies fell to leak blood onto the grass, Carmine looked back at Baird. "Did I miss then?"  
Damon tilted his head to peer over the cover of the rock. "Uh, nope. Think you got them." Delta stood up, surveying the area, prepared for any Locust reinforcements.  
"Wooo! I love me some Locusts in the morning!" Augustus Cole stretched his legs, cramped from being crouched in cover. "But where'd that ugly bastard go?"  
"He probably ran away when he saw Baird's face." Dominic pushed Baird's shoulder, causing him to stumble. Baird clipped his Lancer to his back, and put a finger to Santiago's face.  
"Hey, beauty ain't universal." He stepped out from around the rock, counting the number of dead Locust. "Looks like it was just a grub scouting party. Theron probably just ran off to mommy."  
Marcus caught all of Delta's attention with a look. "That means if we don't get out of here, they'll bring reinforcements." He stepped away from the group, and placed a finger in his ear. "Command, this is Marcus Fenix. Anya, where's that Raven?"  
"Only five minutes away, Marcus. Is everything alright?"  
"Just tell them to be on the lookout for Locust patrols in the area."  
"Roger that, Marcus," was Anya's reply before Marcus cut the connection.  
"Alright, Delta, we've got five minutes before the Raven gets here. Let's police up these weapons, don't want to make things too easy for the grubs." Once Delta had spread out, Marcus stooped to check that the emerald figure wasn't damaged.  
"But the Cole Train loves a challenge, baby," came Cole's enthuastic reply.  
"Don't you ever shut up?"  
Cole shot Baird a glaring look.

* * *

Skarim strode past two giant, dull-witted Locust that stood guard over an entrance into the Hollow, the Locust home. One carried a large grenade launcher, called a Boomshot. The other had a Mulcher, a rotating machine gun that was normally stationary, and wore what looked like a giant bucket on top of his head that made Skarim stare as he walked past. The entrance was a giant thirty foot hole with one side leading to a ramp that went into the dark underground. Skarim barely noted that the whole, which was just big enough for his squad when he came out, was now big enough that a Brumak could fit through. Apparently, things have shifted in the Hollow, making his failure that much more condemning.  
As he entered the Hollow, he removed the face mask on his helmet that contained darkened lenses. The sight underground was as bright as day to him, and the vibrant sun above ground could blind an unprotected Locust. Just below the surface, the hollow was alive with movement. The ramp stretched down to the edge of a large cavern, and in it swathes of troops were rushing to and from connecting tunnels. This cavern had always been a central hub for Locust movement, and Skarim saw the might of the Locust horde passing infront of him. Everything from Wretches to chained Berserkers were moving around the tunnels just under the crust of Sera.  
Skarim followed a circuitous route through the tunnels, one that wound deeper and deeper into the bowels of the underworld, lead only by memory and a faint smell he just barely recognized. After a few minutes, the tunnel abruptly ended into a stone door, just 8 feet tall. He grasped the handle and stepped through the doorway, making sure to close the door behind him. He moved quickly, stepping up to a tall Locust member who was talking to three other Therons much like Skarim. Kneeling behind the Locust leader, he bowed his head and uttered a low whisper.  
"My Kantus..."


	5. Chapter 4

The Raven had plenty of room to land on the blood-soaked field, and it only took a few minutes for Delta to throw the green-armored body and extra weapons on to it before they loaded up and the Raven took off. The rest of Delta Squad was busying themselves while the helicopter flew over the countryside, but Dominic Santiago was busy scouring the landscape for any sight of Locust movement. Conducting a war meant that intelligence was vital, but it was extremely difficult to know the Locust's movement when they all lived underground. Even worse still was the fact that a Locust army could burst out of the ground at any point, and anywhere. Nothing stopped them, not concrete, not a city's infrastructure, nothing short of miles of hard bedrock. Still, Dominic watched the forest passing below, just in case he could spot a passing Locust that could pinpoint a weakness into the Hollow.  
Unfortunately, while Dominic was watching the ground, no one was watching the air. The pilot only got one word out before it was too late.  
"Nemacysts!" The cry over the Raven's intercomm came right before a concusive blast, and the sound of tearing metal. The Nemacyst, a type of living anti-air, hit the helicopter in it's stabilizing blade, leaving the tail of Raven a burning wreck. Immediately, the cabin started spinning like a top. The pilot called a mayday to command while Delta Squad held on for their lives. Another Nemacyst targetted the spinning Raven, and smashed into the nose, washing the pilot in a wave of fire. The cabin shuddered, and Carmine lost his grip. Sliding across the metal floorboard, Carmine flipped out the open bay door.  
Hanging on to Marcus' arm was the only thing that saved Carmine, and Marcus watched the world spin behind Clayton's flailing legs. The next sound heard was a metallic pop, then a horrible scraping sound at the stiffened body of a metal giant broke free of it's clasps. Marcus didn't have time to react as an emerald flash flew out the side of the Raven, smacking into his arm, and taking Clayton Carmine down into the forest below.

* * *

Skarim walked out the entrance to the Hollow an hour after he entered. He passed the brutes that acted as guards, ignoring their stares, and flipped down his shaded lenses when the first beam of sunlight shone upon his face. He drew in a sharp breath to relax his nerves, and immediately regretted it. The stench on the surface was overwhelming at times, and he covered up the resulting raspy cough. Shaking it off, he surged forward again. The last hour had been eventful for him, and the shame he felt before his Kantus has swelled into pride. He informed his Kantus of the human squad that had killed his own, and at first the fury was palpable, but his report continued. He told of the mysterious emerald object the humans were protecting, and his Kantus immediately retracted his hand. Skarim then spent thirty minutes bound in nerves waiting while his Kantus had deliberated. Then, what happened next, Skarim himself could barely believe.  
Skarim drove through the thickets of forest alone, following a billowing smoke trail that bloomed above the treetops. Just a few minutes ago, after Skarim had recovered from his unlikely event, his Kantus informed him that a Seeder squad had took down one of the human's Ravens. It took no time at all for Skarim to connect it to a sound he heard after he left his dying squad. He knew the helicopter belonged to the human squad that killed seven of his men, and he was ready for revenge, but even as he strolled through the forest, he know he wouldn't be alone for long.  
It took all of five minutes for the heavy pounding of heavy flesh to echo after Skarim, and he didn't need to look back to know that the brute guards from back at the Hollow were struggling to catch up with him. He debated about keeping up his fast pace, but then thought against it. He'd save his cruelty for those who truely deserved it. As the two huge Locust fell in line with the Theron, Skarim knew that these two were only the beginning of the forces that he would soon control in the pursuit for the emerald figure.

* * *

"Carmine! No!" Marcus leaned further out the spinning helicopter cabin after Clayton before feeling four hands grab him roughly by the shoulders. Dominic and Cole through Marcus back into the helicopter as the Raven careened into the treetops, Delta squad struggling to hold onto the sides. The Raven smashed into a treetrunk, and flipped violently to once side, dumping its contents out the open bay door, forty feet to the ground. Marcus, Dom, Baird, and Cole crashed through tree limbs as Hammerburst rifles rained down. Dominic saw the Raven come to rest on a bough above him, and the charred pilot hanging out the broken window. He stared at the grim scene that fell away from him until his back slammed onto the ground and his vision went black.


	6. Chapter 5

Marcus groaned as he slapped a heavy hand onto the ground next to his head, pushing his upper body off the forest floor.  
"Ah, shit..." Stars flashed through his vision, and a sharp jolt sent his other head to the side of his head. As he blinked off a blood red tint, he spotted his Lancer rifle a few inches infront of him. Limbs like lead, he slapped the side of his rifle before dragging it into his grasp. He stood shakily, surveying the scene around him, spotting two members of Delta stirring on the dirt. He stumbled toward the third and gave Baird a rough kick in the side. Damon let loose a breathy grunt, then started the unsure process to consciousness. "Alright Delta," Marcus sputtered, coughing from pain in his lungs, "Naptime's over..." He looked up at the Raven wreckage that had started burning slowly, issuing plumes of char black smoke. "Shit," he muttered once more, placing a finger to the comm in his ear. "Command, this is Fenix." A short pause ushered nothing but static. "Command, come in... Anya." A third expletive left his lips as he rounded back to address his squad. "Seeders in the area are blocking comms. You know the deal Delta."  
"Yeah," Baird choked out as he doubled over, hands on his knees. "Kill big ugly, call for evac, and get shot down again." He grunted, and flung himself back, stretching his arms to his sides.  
"And then we kill more grubs," was Marcus' sharp reply. "And I don't want to hear any complaining, because that's what Delta does."  
"Marcus..." Dom approached Fenix, stepping close enough to lower his voice. "That seeder could be anywhere in the woods. How are we going to find it?"  
Fenix stared into Santiago's eyes, raising his voice so that everyone could hear him. "With our eyes." He turned and looked up at the Raven, noting the scarring on the tail end. "The nemacysts came from the south, so that's where we start.  
This time it was Baird's turn to step forward. "Wait, what about Carmine? We're not just going to leave him in the forest, are we?" He motioned heavily with his arm, obviously concerned.  
"Once we get comms, we'll pick up Carmine, but that seeder's our top priority. Move out Delta."  
Barid shook his head as Marcus and Dominic started their way south, sure footfalls crushing the underbrush as they headed away from the Raven. Cole walked up and placed a hand on Baird's shoulder. "Don't worry, baby. Carmine's a big boy, he can take of himself." Cole gave him a heavy pat, then followed the other two, Damon taking up the rear.

* * *

A heavy voice matched the scaly white hand that pointed to a burning wreckage in the tree tops.  
"Look..." was all the Locust said, and Skarim followed the target of his sniper's sharpened eyesight. Giving a loud hiss joined by a sharp hand gesture, Skarim ordered his squad forward, his brutes crushing saplings beneath their massive feet. Twelve Locust surrounded Skarim as he came underneath the flaming scrap of the Raven. He relished in the sight of the charred pilot, but as he searched around the area, he found nothing but a couple of spilt weapons. He started to tremble with fury, thinking his quarry had gotten away again when one of his rifleman brought his attention to foot steps leading into the trees. He looked around at his squad. "Well?" A hiss shot out at a dumbstruck boomer before rounding on his sniper. "Go get them!"  
The thuds of several footbeats started instantly as the Locust clambered over themselves to follow the tracks Delta squad had left. Skarim took one last look around the site, and noticed something he didn't see before. He stepped up to the glinting item hidden in the glass, and stooped to pick it up. Using only two fingers, he held up a pair of goggles, and sniffed it. He flinched back at the stink, but decided to strap it to his helmet anyways. Once they were securely attached, he took off after his squad in a confident, long stride.

* * *

"Damn, that hurt..." Clayton slapped a hand on his knee before pushing himself into an erect position. He brushed the dirt off of his cut and scraped arms before stepping forward to retrieve his helmet. He did one last physical check of his armor before he searched around for weapons. Luckily, his Longshot wasn't far, and he snatched up a Hammerburst and a large caliber revolver called the Boltok, slapping them onto magnetic strips on his body armor that held them.  
"Where the hell am I?" Carmine scanned the forest for any sort of directional reasoning. The sun shined straight through the canopy, refusing to tell Carmine which direction was north. The Raven had been above the trees when he fell, and could've drifted anywhere. He tried to remember how he fell. Marcus had a hold of him, then... Something broke his grip. The green body. He groaned and spun to look for the mysterious figure. He spotted it quick enough, and approached it cautiously, debating how he was supposed to take it with him. He grabbed an arm to try and drag it. When that didn't work, he tried setting it on his shoulders. It wouldn't bulge. His final choice was to kick it heavily in the side. He heard something crack, but decided he didn't care. He sat down on the chest of the body, forced to wait for Delta to find him. "Ah, hell," he muttered, placing his chin on his hand, staring off into the treeline while he waited.


	7. Chapter 6

Cortana 'woke up', in a sense. The few routines she left running activated her whole, bringing her full processing power online. She experienced a groggy tired sense as her mind went through a self test, checking herself for any inconsistency in her data. An alarm was beeping, and she checked its purpose. Apparently one of the batteries that held the charge she was living off of had been damaged, and power levels were at a critical three percent. Once the power went out, she was essentially dead. Sure, her 'physical' self was contained in a static memory matrix, meaning that applied power would bring her back, but until then she would be useless to everyone. Including herself.  
She tried to find out her surroundings, but neither the microphone nor the camera was responding. She could still see John internally, however, and he was looking better. His breathing was stronger, and she could detect faint impulses the caused the Spartan to twitch. Her only hope was that John's unconsciousness was shallow enough that he could be woken. She turned on the speakers in his helmet. "John." She waited, trying to detect any change. "John!" She tried again, still no sign of movement. She went through every scenario within seconds, and landed on only one option. Her battery was at two percent, and she hoped it would be enough. Overriding the security measures on the electrical components in John's helmet, she poured the rest of the battery's charge into one sudden surge. A small, low current charge sparked from a broken switch to his chin, creating an audible pop. Cortana's power failed instantly, but she swore, right before she went under she saw a flicker underneath his eyelids. Next, the world was dark.

* * *

Skarim's hearts raced as he jogged through the forest. One of his patrols came to him saying they found a human alone in the woods, but that was inconsequential. The real news was that the object that saved him infront of his Kantus, the emerald figure, was with the human. He had seen these human's tenacity first hand, and wanted to leave nothing to chance. He left his brutes and a handful of rifleman to follow the sniper that was tracking the other humans, and left with a few Locust to collect his prize. The humans heading toward a seeder in the forest was moving further and further away from the object. Fate, it seemed, had finally begun to shine on the Locust.  
His squad slowed as they neared their target. He wanted to take the human by surprise, take him out quickly. He motioned for a few Locust to move around to flank the human. He crouched as he walked through the underbrush, readying a Lancer, a cherished weapon when they lived off of the human's scraps. Spotting the human through the leaves, sitting on his prize, his multiple hearts thundered in his eardrums. Raising the sights to center on the human, he stepped forward and immediately regretted it.

* * *

Carmine heard something snap directly infront of him, and he jerked his head from its perch. Narrowing his eyes, he scanned the forest line, and instantly felt that something was wrong. He stood up slowly and drew out the confiscated Hammerburst. He thought he spotted something when bullets spat past him, flying into the trees behind him. He immediately recognized the telltale cough of the Lancer's muzzle report. Adrenaline surged as he slid behind the trunk of a tree. Dipping his head out, he tried to spot a target. He pulled back as rounds slammed into his cover. "Damned grubs!" He aimed his Hammerburst blindly around the tree and pulled the trigger. A few shots flew into the trees, and return fire made him flinch, this time Hammerburst, and a lot less accurate. Several Locust had him pinned down, and it was no doubt of his that they were beginning to circle him. 'This is it,' he thought, blindly firing more shots into the tree trunks. 'This is where I die.'  
The incoming fire had been working around to his left, and he shifted around the tree to compensate. Every now and then, he heard a Lancer fire, and he focused his fire there, but the Hammerburst fire came from every other direction. He had squatted down and was looking around the trunk while he reloaded his weapon when he felt a heavy tap on his shoulder. His head spun around and he instictively pushed his back into the tree out of shock. The figure decked out in green armor was crouching infront of him, his visor reflecting Carmine's own helmet. Carmine didn't even have time to react when he heard the low, male voice of the green person.  
"Get me a weapon."


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: Ok, so, some readers were having problems with reading the formatting that I've been using. This is a test. If it's easier to read this way, please tell me.**

* * *

"Cole! Baird!" Marcus' voice struggled to keep above the gunfire, explosions, and yells that polluted the air. He brought his hand off the grip of his weapon just long enough to

thrust two fingers in a direction vaguely catty corner to the unmarked battlefield. "Flank left!" He had more to say, but his command was cut off by the eruption of a grenade,

chunks of dirt and earth becoming airborne projectiles that pelted both Marcus and Dominic, who was knealt beside him against the sandbags that provide them cover. Augustus

and Damon, however, didn't need the rest of the command. They ran at a crouch, incoming fire shooting little plumes from the ground behind them, around the perimeter of the

Locust encampment. Finding another spot of cover, they proceeded to lay flanking fire on the few Locust left alive, dug deep into the side of a hill.

On top of the hill, a giant, eight legged beast was burrowed halfway into the ground. At first it would seem that it was buried heads up, with a great gaping maw thrashing at the

air as stray bullets pinged off its armored hide, but the Seeder was actually face first into a hole specifically dug for it. There it was fed Nemacysts, a type of overgrown, volatile

slug, that it ejected out of its rear end at high velocities. This made the Seeder a kind of living artillery, since the Nemacysts tend to explode on impact. Not only were the

Nemacysts explosive, but they also jammed all radio frequencies in the area, making their destruction a primary objective. That was why Delta was fighting tooth and nail to

scale the hillside: to get at the Seeder, and destroy the Nemacysts. The Locust were making sure it wouldn't be easier.

Dominic swung the chain attached to a Bolo Grenade, a kind of fragmentary grenade that you swung to gather momentum. When Dominic let go of the handle, it soared over the

field to land behind sandbags that kept a few Locust fairly well entrenched. The resulting explosion sent chalky white pieces trailing blood down the hillside. Elated, Dom let out a

"Sup' Bitches" before switching back to his Lancer rifle. In a few seconds, the final Locust fell over his cover, dead.

"Nice throw," Marcus complimented, walking up the hillside to meet up with Damon and Augustus. "Save any of those for the Seeder?"

"Don't worry, Marcus," Cole said when he was within earshot. "I'm sure Baird's got plenty of explosives left." Damon was known for being a kind of explosive expert, but then

again, Damon was known for being a kind of 'anything' expert.

"Actually," Baird commented, narrowing his eyes at Cole's smirk, "I do." He reached into a pouch on his belt and retrieved a grenade, prepping the timer as they approached the

rear end of the massive Seeder. "I just love seeing these squishy things pop." He tossed the grenade into the hole, and a few seconds later, a wave of fire and gore came back

out. The Seeder let out a wet gurgle, its spindly legs trying desperately to hold on to the ground as its failing strength couldn't keep it from sliding into the hole. Once the Seeder

was sufficiently dead, Marcus brought two fingers to his ear, pressing on the communication reciever securely wedged into his ear canal. Keying his squad's frequency, he called

out to his lost Gears. "Carmine. Carmine, can you hear me?"

* * *

Below his mask, Skarim's face was a twisted, distorted scowl. His glorious prize, the object he was going to bring back to Queen Mirah herself, was up and moving around on its

own. At least it was confirmed to be a human weapon, and its autonomous movement made it all the more imperative that he captured it and brought it back to his queen. Half

of his squad had been circling the human that took potshots at him. In a few seconds, Skarim's pincers will close, and there will be nothing the humans could do about it. He let

out a threatening hiss. His hand motioned his Locust forward. Victory would finally be his.

* * *

Carmine stared. He brain siezed as his eyes scanned the crouching suit that had just demanded a weapon. 'So there is a person in there,' he thought to himself. Then something

within him kicked his brain into motion. 'Hey! Get him a weapon!' He nodded quickly, speaking aloud. "Yeah, sure. Here." He unclipped the Boltok pistol from his hip, and placed

it in the outstretched hand infront of him. The bulk of the glove made the pistol seem small, but he gingerly wrapped fingers around the grip, barely fitting a digit into the trigger

guard. Carmine was just about to reach the impression that the emerald figure was moving cautiously slow when Hammerburst fire rained on his tree. Before he could react, the

emerald figure was up from his crouch, arms outstretched, and firing. He could hear the Locust yell as several large caliber slugs slammed into their hardened flesh. Six shots

later, the Boltok was empty, and four Locust was dead. Incoming fire subsided. Carmine gaped as the figure ducked behind a tree as shots wisped through where he was

standing. The figure popped open the cylinder to the Boltok, and Carmine tossed him a speed loader. Six shells slid smoothly into their place. Carmine layed supressing fire as

the figure reloaded, then stared at him once more.

"Who are you?"


	9. Chapter 8

John, the SPARTAN II, a supersoldier in the UNSC Marines, was having difficulties. He awoke quiet harshly to a jolting pain in his chin, and the realization that he couldn't move.

His armor was locked into position during his descent planetside, and now, judging by the lack of power to his Heads Up Display, stuck in a locked position. He tried to restart the

system, and found that he couldn't. The whole suit was lacking power, and he would have to get it fixed if it was going to be any use. His arms ached. They were locked in an

ackward, bent position. He flexed.

Mechanical locks snapped as John applied a supreme amount of force from his augmented muscles. He worked one joint at a time as he broke his armor free, noting the shocking

pain that racked through his body as he worked around broken bones and bruised body parts. As he worked the joints of his Mjolnir armor, he was relieved to see the protective

film on his visor retract as a failsafe. Eventually, his darkened vision brightened, and he looked up at green treetops. His first thought was how odd it was to see trees, but his

second was how he couldn't hear. Bringing a stiff arm to his helmet, his put two fingers to a small slot next to his ear, a combination microphone and speaker system. He

pressed against his head, hard, until he heard the polymer material crack. A whoosh of air told him that he had just broken the seal in his suit. It was no longer worthy for a

vacuum enviroment, but at least he could hear once again.

Gunfire. Lots of it, and very close. The material in his helmet muffled the outside world, but the air rushing in brought an intense smell of gunpowder, and it was too obvious to

combine the two, and he had confirmation when the bark of a tree in his vision split from a particularly powerful shot. His chest screamed as he forced himself into a sitting

position, several broken ribs causing lights to flash in his vision. He blinked it off and surveyed the area around him.

The first thing he noticed was a person taking cover beside a rather large tree. The person was about 5'9, and was extremely built. Its wide body was covered in grey armor that

was lined with blue lights, thick plating residing over important body parts. A helmet was tight on its head, with two small blue colored panes of glass over the eyes giving the

helmet the resemblance of a face. The two most peculiar things about this person was in the center of his chest there was a diagram, a skull in the middle of a gear, and that he

was holding a rather large weapon. Even compared to John, this person had huge hands, and it was represented in the large, bull-pup designed rifle that he fired from around

the tree. It had a large banana clip, and a large barrel, everything about it was large, and cracked as the person fired.

The strange soldier was taking potshots into the forest. John saw glimpses of chalky white figures, and incoming fire. They were scaly, their faces uncovered, and missing a nose.

One of these white figures was adorned in thick, deep red armor, a helmet covering its face. These lizard people were about the same size and width as the armored figure

behind the tree, and were being directed by the one in red. There were several of these lizard people, and only one of the other type.

John noticed all of this in several seconds, and pushed himself onto his feet. His armor, which normally augmented his strength and speed, weighed him down, its 800 pounds a

burden on his punished body. Fortunately, it wasn't enough to stop John from moving. He made an immediate decision, and dashed over to the person in blue armor. He had to

choose a side, and would prefer to be with the side he could overpower if he needed to. He approached the soldier at a crouch, and had to yell to get his voice to be heard.

"Get me a weapon!"

The person froze and stared at John before speaking, retrieving a pistol from his size.

"Yeah, sure. Here." It was a male's voice, slightly tinned from the speakers in his helmet, and he spoke, surprisingly enough, English. This shocked John's system, but he

grabbed the pistol the man retrieved from his side, and looked over the over-sized revolver. He wrapped his hand around it, and managed to fit a finger into the trigger well.

Standing up, he spotted a few advancing figures. He quickly took aim, using both hands to steady the weapon. The first shot surprised him, the recoil was massive. It went wide,

and smashed into a tree. The second and third shots were better, both slamming in the open chest of the creature. It flipped backwards, blood flying as it fell dead. Another shot

hit home on a creature drawing its own weapon to bare. Two more shots took out two more creatures, and John heard the click from an empty cylinder. He slid into cover as

returning fire filled the air, and the man next to him tossed him a speed loader with six more shots. The man stared at him, then yelled across the noise of gunfire.

"Who are you?"

* * *

Skarim was furious. The human had activated their weapon, and within a few seconds four of his Locust had died. The loss of life wasn't so much important, but it signalled that

in the end, he still had no idea what he was dealing with, a situation he could not be put in right now. His Kantus, and even more, his Queen, was counting on him to recover the

object. He could not fail. His clip cracked empty, and he cursed under his breath, ducking back behind his tree. He demanded that his squad pushed in now. He revved up the

chainsaw on his Lancer, and waited to charge behind the others. He heard the human curse, then vaguely noticed as his squad fell to the human's gunfire. The relatively quiet

spat of the hammerburst was interspersed with the roar of a Boltok, and every time it signalled another casualty for the Locust.

The human and his weapon started retreating, sending covering fire as they backpedalled through the forest. The Locust cautioned after them, leaping from tree to tree. Skarim

watched stray shots split tree trunks, and direct shots narrowly dodged by the humans. Finally, the human took a hit to the chest. The low speed Hammerburst round cracked a

round plate in on his armor, and he collapsed to his knee, grasping at his chest. The weapon stepped infront of the human, sweeping up his Hammerburst, and a burst rendered

the offending Locust dead. The human stood up shakily behind the emerald figure, retreiving his secondary weapon. He one armed at shot at Skarim, and Skarim's hearts

jumped as the tree next to him pelted his armor with splinters. He drew his sights on the human, hissing out a low growl. Pulling trigger, he watched the weapon step infront of

the human, getting rocked as the Lancer's rounds crumpled against his armor. The figure swayed, reacting to the force of the impact. His armor cracked and bent, and he

stepped back, but he didn't fall.


	10. Chapter 9

Carmine took a round to the chest, and it left him racked with pain and coughing. It didn't puncture the thick COG armor, but he was sure he was going to bruise. To his

surprise, though, instead of recieve a few more shots, the emerald figure stepped infront of him, shielding him from incoming fire. It gave Carmine enough time to recover, and

even take a potshot with his Longshot. Then, he didn't have the luxury. The figure ate three Lancer shots, and he stumbled back, still pulling the trigger on the Hammerburst he

recovered from Carmine. Carmine's ears rang from the sound of the bullets snapping against the emerald green armor. He thought the Lancer round had done some serious

damage. He thought wrong.

The man in the suit took one step back, then swiftly recovered his stance, righting his aim and both of them continued to retreat through the trees. The Locust were hot on their

tails, the smell of burning sulfer filling the air between them. They leapt from tree to tree, trying to stay behind cover, taking potshots at the advancing enemies. The Theron was

easily noticible, his extravagant armor standing out amongst the shirtless riflemen of the Locust, and whenever Carmine could, he loosed a Longshot round at him, but the

Theron was good, deftly dodging Carmine's shots.

"We gotta get out of here," Carmine yelled at the emerald figure as it's hammerburst punched a bloody hole into an advancing Locust. "We can't fight them off." The man in the

armor turned to him as if to say something, but was interrupted. Beneath Carmine's feet, the ground shook and a low rumble overpowered the noise of the gunfight. Trees

toppled between the Locust and Carmine as the ground churned, and a large, writhing plant-like vine erupted from the ground, curling around treelimbs, extremely thick, with

vibrant, yellow pustules along the vine.

Carmine got out 'Lambent stalk!' Before one of the bulbous pods on the vine opened up, and a large growth fell to the ground, splashing a kind of yellow slime as it slammed into

the earth with a wet thud. The yellow slime was Immulsion, an energy source for the people of Sera, and the tumerous, humanoid figure that stood up after hitting the ground

was known as Lambent, a kind of diseased Locust, following a completely different will from the Hive. The Lambent was regarded as a mutant, from both the Locust and the

Humans, and was extremely aggressive to both sides. Killing them, however, was potentially deadly, as the immulsion within their bodies was very volatile, often times exploding

violently. It was best to keep your distance.

The shambling Lambent held a Hammerburst rifle in one hand, its chest swollen massively, and it turned to the nearest living creature, in this case an unwitting Locust rifleman,

and immediately started firing upon it. The Locust was dead before it knew what hit it, and the rest of the Locust squad turned their attention from Carmine, and started firing on

the Lambent. Carmine took the opportunity to restate the obvious.

"Dredges are bad news. We got to get out of here."

The emerald man nodded at him, took a few pot shots at distracted Locusts, and turned away from the firefight. As Carmine followed suit, the familiar voice of Marcus Fenix rang

through the speaker in his ear.

"Carmine. Carmine, can you hear me?"

* * *

In the time that it took Carmine to respond to Marcus' call, a round from a Boomshot grenade launcher had exploded mere meters from Delta's position. Following the explosion,

incoming felt pelted the hillside from the treeline.

"Get into cover Delta!" Marcus prompted Delta to move, jumping behind the same sandbags his squad had cleared only a few minutes before. He groaned as Hammerburst fire

slammed into the bags, spraying the sand over his prone body. A harried voice in his ear temporary blocked out the din of gunfire.

"Fenix. It's Carmine." Tinny explosions in the background was eerily similar to Marcus' own situation. "I recovered the objective, but was ambushed by grubs." There was a long

pause filled by the report of a Longshot rifle. Marcus took the opportunity to chuck a grenade at the approaching forces, throwing it blindly over his cover. "Now's there's

Lambent. Where the hell are you Delta?"

"Ah, hell," Marcus muttered to himself. Lambent. That was bad news. Lambent could sprout up anywhere, even worse than the Locust's emergence holes. Once those stalks

started popping up, it was hell until they stopped. Marcus pressed two fingers into his ear. "Roger that Carmine, just hold on a second." He practically had to yell. The Boomer

with the grenade launching Boomshot was laying down successive fire, filling the air with debris while it yelled its trademark 'Boom!' He was about to yell a command to Delta

when another voice rang in his head.

"Sergeant Fenix, this is Command. Can you hear me Marcus?" Anya, acting as the liason to Command, had a sense of strained urgency in her voice.

"Shit!" Marcus was tired of getting interrupted when there were Locust breathing down his neck. He hadn't even had time to look at his squad's condition, and with rounds pelting

his cover, he wasn't about to stick his head out now. "Delta, get me some god-damned covering fire!" He heard an enthusiastic 'you got it baby' from Cole, and a large amount of

Lancer ammo going down range, reducing the incoming fire enough for him to respond. "Anya, I'm a little in the middle of something."

"And you're going to be in it more. Scans show a large amount of Locust and Lambent activity in your area. What happened to your evac?" Anya seemed more bossy, than

worried, about the downed Raven.

"Shot down by Nemacysts. Anya, we're going to need a better evac." Marcus was annoyed himself. This day had just gotten shittier, and shittier.

"Roger that, Marcus, we've got a pair of Centaurs escorting an APC enroute to your position now. We sent them out when we lost your signal." Marcus snorted. Sure, the Centaur

light tank was a valuable asset, combining speed and firepower, but he knew that they weren't sent for his safety. Colonel Hoffman wanted the objective secured, and seemed

like he would throw the whole C.O.G. Army at this forest just to get it. What stumped Marcus was that they didn't even know what it was. Why was Hoffman so interested in it?

A barrage of bullets snapped Marcus out of his train of thought, and his mind resumed on the combat at hand.

* * *

**A/N: Tell you what guys... It sure is hard writing up five 1000 word chapters in a week. It'd be nice to get a couple reviews, so I know more than one person is actively reading this, to ease my mind... Thanks.**


	11. Chapter 10

Skarim shielded his eyes with his forearm as the Lambent Locust he pumped several rounds into exploded, throwing the glowing immulsion around. Lambent stalks, three of

them, had popped up between him and his quarry, and he feared the Human weapon would escape.

His squad was distracted. The fear of the Lambent coursed through Locust blood as his rifle gunned down Locust that were once just like them. They had been infected, diseased

by the immulsion that they lived with for years, and it changed them. The Lambent didn't respond to the Locust, and followed a will not of the Queen's. They were violent,

unpredictable, and over time they had grown into a formidible, bright yellow force against both the Humans on Sera, and the Locust below.

Skarim watched the Human loose a shot that caused a dretch to quiver. He prepped his Lancer sights on it, knowing what will come next. Its body erupted, quickly mutating

itself into a different form. Its lower half bulged and swelled, while its chest shot toward the sky. The extended, snake like midsection was twelve feet high, and its torso sat upon

it. Skarim watched as its arms extended into long, curling tentacles, and when it was over, the hideous thing began hurling toxic Immulsion at his squad, its weapon left

forgotten at its swollen, deformed base.

Skarim squeezed the trigger at the high torso of the Dredge, the control bursts causing ragged holes that seeped Immulsion. He kept his weapon trained on the Dredge, but his

eyes caught the Human and Skarim's prize duck away from the combat, their area cleared of Lambent. He let out a furious hiss, and called two of the closest Locust to follow

him. They took their last shots at the Dredge. Eyes scanning the forest infront of him, he spotted something that made the edges of his mouth curl up. Billowing red smoke was

pouring over the tree tops, an obvious signal. Skarim knew where the Human was headed.

He, and two of his Rifleman, bounded over the overgrowth, racing to get to the point where the smoke came from. With any luck, Skarim's main force will notice and follow in

kind. He had already counted the squad that was fighting the Lambent as dead, and was now focused on the Locust that had been following the Human squad from the helicopter

wreck. He wondered how quickly the Humans had lasted before being crushed underfoot by one of his massive brutes. He pleasured at the idea of the Human with the inscription

on his chest that said 'Grub Killer', the one with his prize, meeting the same fate. He pushed himself harder.

A surprised gasp came from behind Skarim, followed by a pained 'No'. He slid to a stop, and spun around, him and one other Locust scouring the area behind them. His other

Locust was heaped into a pile on the ground, smoldering, covered in Immulsion. They stood for seconds, sweeping the ground with the sights of the rifles, when his rifleman let

out a few shots from his Hammerburst. From within the underbrush, a stream of toxic gold shot out of a horrifying maw, splashing against the unarmored Locust. A few rounds

smacked into a massive Immulsion serpent, a three flanged mouth spewing forth a deadly poison, but the Locust was already dead, the corrosive liquid melting its thick hide.

The head and spinal column of the Dredge had seperated from the rest of the body, and when it moved in its snake-like fashion, it left a trail of Immulsion dripping from it. It

moved quickly towards Skarim, and opened it mouth again to spew its venom. He lept deftly to the side, squeezing his trigger until the head-snake popped, leaving a smolding

spine dissolving on the forest floor.

Skarim stood upright, his multiple hearts racing with adrenaline. The smell of something burning itched his nose, and he frantically scratched at pieces of armor that was melting

from splashes of Immulsion. He hissed a curse at the head-snake, then turned and continue towards the smoke, this time completely alone.

* * *

"Whoo!" Augustus Cole cheered as he mowed down a Locust with his Lancer rifle. He was always enthusiastic about a fight, and in some ways, Baird was jealous of it. "Can't stop

the Cole Train, baby. Oh yeah! Come get some!" And then at other times, he found it down-right annoying. A Boomshot round flew past Cole's head, a little to close for comfort,

and as it exploded on the hillside behind him, Cole ducked back into cover. Baird smirked. Normally he'd let loose a snide comment, like 'I thought you couldn't be stopped,' or 'I

think they came and got some,' but with several grubs, a Boomer, and at least one sniper, Baird was more worried about the battle.

He had just taken out a grenadier that was picking at them with Boltok fire when his sandbags erupted from a high concentration of large caliber rounds. A high pitched whine,

and a slow deep 'Grind' announce the arrival of another Boomer type of Locust.

"Grinder!" He yelled, blind firing over his cover at the big dumb beast, and Dom and Cole focused their firing on the walking turret that was the Grinder. Baird knew that if he

popped up for an instance, the Mulcher that the Grinder was armed with, a high-speed rotating Gatling gun, would tear him to shreds. Instead, he primed a frag grenade, and

tossed it in the general area. When the grenade exploded, and the Mulcher fire stopped, Baird poked his head out of cover.

He heard the whistle of the shot as it nearly took his head out. He flinched, ducking back under cover, but had spotted the sniper.

"Hey!" He yelled, taking out his own Longshot in retaliation. "Watch the hair." He propped the Longshot onto the sandbags, and focused the scope onto the spot where the sniper

was hiding in the tree. When his head popped out from behind a branch, Baird centered his sights and breathed. At the low point of his breath, he pulled the trigger, and as the

Sniper's head sprayed blood, he muttered under his breath.

"Got ya..."


End file.
